Pompeii restoration: Villa of Mysteries gets a makeover

Just outside the city walls, this villa-cum-farm - engulfed by lava when Vesuvius erupted in AD 79 - includes the most famous Pompeian wall-painting. A mysterious scene wrapping around the four walls of a large reception room, featuring flagellation, phalluses, and the god Dionysus. It also contains spaces for dining and entertaining, as well as a wine press. It survived the volcanic eruption relatively unscathed, meaning that the original frescoes, painted in the first century BC, remain in tact. Some interpret the paintings as a depiction of the initiation rites of the cult of Dionysus, other believe they show a play, a pantomime or a bride getting ready for her wedding. Read more: The best hotels in Italy